Energy

Warnings about potentially severe consequences of climate change were deleted from a Trump administration plan to weaken curbs on power plant emissions during a White House review. Drafts had devoted more than 500 words to highlighting the impacts -- more heat waves, intense hurricanes, heavy rainfalls, floods and water pollution -- as part of the proposal to replace Obama-era restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions. [node:read-more:link]

The California Senate on Wednesday passed legislation that would set the state on a path to eliminate carbon emissions from its electricity generation, after the state Assembly approved it on Tuesday. S.B. 100 would set a state goal to supply 100% of retail electricity sales from carbon-free resources by 2045 and direct state agencies to begin planning for the target. [node:read-more:link]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) said it will alter its management of coal ash at a Kentucky coal plant in response to an Obama-era regulation under threat by the Trump administration.The utility will close two unlined coal ash storage units at its Shawnee Fossil Plant, removing water from the waste project, and capping the remaining contents in place, according to a final supplemental Environmental Impact Statement released on Friday. [node:read-more:link]

The Trump administration proposed replacing a signature Obama-era policy to combat climate change with a weaker plan that would let states write their own rules on coal-fired power plants, prompting critics to warn of dire environmental and health consequences. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal would require states to submit plans for improving efficiency of coal-fired power plants. [node:read-more:link]

Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler dropped into Iowa this week. Wheeler talked about "certainty" but offered none. Based on the news reports from the Des Moines Register and Cedar Rapids Gazette, Wheeler didn't say EPA was going to back off on small-refinery exemptions, and he said the agency is stilling "looking into" the possibility of E15 year-round. There were still no answers about the biofuel demand lost from EPA's small-refinery exemptions, only Wheeler pointing out the need for more transparency. [node:read-more:link]

Mandate innovations should no longer be limited to megawatts of wind and solar. State mandates, called renewable portfolio standards (RPS), set a standard for the renewable MWs that state load serving entities (LSE) must have in their portfolios by a specified date. RPSs, mandated in D.C. and 29 states, are at least partially responsible for 56% of the 120 GW of renewables built since 2000, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. [node:read-more:link]

The Environmental Protection Agency has released the details of its plan to replace President Obama’s signature climate change policy, the Clean Power Plan, and it’s pretty much what we expected: a tepid pledge to fight climate change that’s actually a coal bailout.For the new proposal to stand, it has to be just as good as or better than the one it replaces in order to comply with the law. But it’s much weaker than the rule it’s replacing, so the EPA is arguing for a cost-benefit calculation that justifies a relaxed standard. [node:read-more:link]

States with a history of fighting air pollution generated by coal-fired power plants criticized a move by President Donald Trump's administration to scale back federal restrictions on emissions, with some threatening court challenges. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan was among those who pledged to "take legal action to ensure the federal government does its job" to protect the environment and people's health. [node:read-more:link]

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a law requiring owners of gas storage fields to notify local officials if a natural gas leak threatens drinking water supplies. The law is designed to protect the Mahomet Aquifer in east-central Illinois. It is the area's primary water source. It provides drinking water for more than 500,000 residents.The measure sponsored by Mahomet Republican Sen. Chapin Rose also requires annual storage-field inspections by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. [node:read-more:link]

A company that operates oil pipelines in North Dakota is promoting an alternative method to cleaning up spills: introducing bugs to contaminated soil. Targa Resources has a pilot project in McKenzie County that is using bioremediation, also known as landfarming, to remove spilled oil and allow the soil to be reused.“When you spill hydrocarbon, there are naturally occurring microbes − bugs − that immediately start to eat it,” said David McQuade, senior environmental director for Targa. [node:read-more:link]